Carrier and screening means for potato-diggers.



- W. B. HEWITT CARRIER AND SCREENING MEANS FOR POTATO DIGGERS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 27,1910.

Patented Feb. 4, 191.3

4 SHBETS-SHEBT 1.

'W. B. HEWITT. CARRIER AND SCREENING MEANS FOR POTATO DIGGERS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 27,1910

Patented. Feb. 4, 1913.

- W. E. HEWITT. CARRIER AND SGREENlNG MEANS YOR POT APPLICATION FILED JULY 27,1910.

ATO DIGGERS.

4 SHEETSESHEET s.

Patented Feb. 4, 1913.

W. E. HEWITT. ND SCREENING MEANS FOR POTATO DIGGERS.

CARRIER A fi PL mATIoN FILED JULY 27,1910.

Pateilted Feb 1913.

SHEETS-SHEET 4.

d1. 5 ,4 M w. u M 5 0 5 w .4 I a E W I I; 1% k J 0 and illustrated in the accompanying mounted above said frame.

tinrr sans WILLIAM E. HEWITT, or TURNER, transas.

CARRIER AND SCREENING MEANS FOR FOIti'ifO-EIGGERS.

Application filed July 27, 1910. Serial No. 57%,135.

To allfwhom it mag concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. HEWITT,

:a citizen of the United States, residing at Turner, in the county of \Vyandotte and construction of machines for potato digging purposes and includes primarily special screening means in association with a pecul iar form of carrier for feeding material to the screening means, together with other details of construction, the advantages of which will appear more fully hereinafter.

\Vith the above and other objects in view,- this invention consists in the C(HlStI'UGtHflL; combination, and arrangement of parts, all as hereinafter more fully described, claimed,

drawings whereina Figure 1 is av side elevation of the potato digger constructed in accordance with the present invention, parts thereof being in section; Fi 2 is atop plan view thereof; Fig. is a front elevation thereof, parts being broken away; Fig. 4 is an elevation illustrating the cooperation between the carrier rods and the screening rods; Fig. 5 is a transverse section of the carrier taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a trans verse section taken along line 6"(S of Fig. 1; Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view of the screening mechanism; Fi 8 is a transverse section taken along line 88 of Fig. 7.

n potato digger forming thesubject matter of the present invention comprises a frame having wheels of the usual construction mounted thereon and a superstructure A screening apparatus is mounted on the r ar end of said superstructure while a carrier is pivotalty mounted on the forward side of said superstructure. said carrier having a plow at its lower terminal. All of the mechanisms are .driven from a shaft mounted on the superstructure about which the carrier pivots. said shatt being driven by a gasolene engine mounted on the forward end of the frame. weed extractor is superposed above the carrier and is adapted to remove the weeds and vines of the potatoes which may be gather ed in by the carrier.

ln carrying out the pr sent invention, 10 indicates the longitudinal sides of the rec- Specification of Letters Patent.

retested r s.

tangular frame constructed of channel oars between the terminals of which are inter posed the transverse barsll. The trains thus formed and indicated for thesakeof convenience generaily as it carries the: axles 12 of the usual construction at the termina s of which are mounted the wheels The convergentsupport's 1e are centrally mounted on the longitudinal. bars .10 of the frame A to which are secured the horizontal bars 15 which extend rearwardly and are secured tot-he vertical supports 16, said bars forming in combination the super structure generally indicated as B.- i

A transverse shaft 17 is mounted iii-the bearings 18, located at the top of the con verging supports 14. This shaftis rotated by the belt 19 passing over a pulley 20 located atone tern'iinal of the shaft and ex.-

tendin to a gasolene engine or motor Ang e bars 22 are mounted AllttHTfifiCilfitE the sides 10 of the frame Aland are 'ivotalh jacent to the plow 23 have secured thereto the yoke 24 to which is swiveled the screw 25 which projects upwardly through a hearing 26, and is provided atits upper ere tremity with a hand-wheel 27. From this. construction it will be understood as the hand-wheel .2? is rotated in either direc tion. the screw 25 will raise and lower the plow 23 through the angle bars 22, thereby regulating the th thereof in the ground or entirely removin the same as desired.

The rear termina s of the angle bars are bent downwardly toward the superstructure B in order to deliver the potatoes to the screen as hereinafter-more fully described. Guide strips :28 are supported by brackets 29 which are carried by the angle bars said guiding strips being spaced from the-angle bars. The uiding strips extend substantially the entire length of the angle bars and minals thereof. interlocking with the rod er the screen as hereinafter .more fully det ll scribed. A sprocket'wheel 31 is located adjaccnt to each terminal of the shaftl?" and is adapted to rotate therewith, sail s rockets being alined with the sprockets 3; carried at the lower terminals of the angle bars 22 by the brackets The carricrchain operates over the sprocket wheels and is adapted to receive the potatoes from the plow 23, and conduct the same to the screen, here inaftcr' more fully described. lhis. chain comprises a series, of transverse bars 3'4: which are flexibly connected bythe'chain 35 which passes about the sprocket Wheels 31 and 32. Each transverse bar has formed or secured thereon thc ontwardly extending fingers 36 which operate between the longitudinal bars 30, lg struction it will readily be and "toad that as the plow removes the potatoes from the ground, the fingers as receive the potatoes directly from plow conduct the same upwardly to the screen The provision of the longitudinal bars 36 p rmits the majority of the loose dirt to si'zft o the ground, the remainder of the dirt being removed by the screening mechanism, hereinaftermore fully described.

A weed removing-mechanism is mounted centrally over the carrier mechanism and comprises the shaft 3'! mounted on the bearings 3S diagonally carried by the angle bars 22. This shaft 37 carries a plurality of radially extending arms 39 which rotates directly over the lingo 36 01 the carrier and are adapted to remove the and vines from said carrier (flue terminal of the shaft 37 carries a beveled ch. meshes with a similar beveled 5.1. carried by an auxiliary bearing nioulned. on the adjacent bearing 38. The shaft of the beveled gear 4E1 carries a small sprocket wheel &2 about which operates a chain {l3 which extends downwardly and operates about the large sprocket 44 rigidly mounted on the shaft 17. It will be readily understood that as the shaft- 17 rotates the shaft carrying the bevelcd gear 41 will likewise rotate and will. in turn rotate the shaft carrying the fingers.

A crank shaft 4:5 is rotatably mounted below the longitudinal bars 7.5 of the super structure B adjacent to the shaft and is Ll rotated by the chain which operates over a sprocket l? located at the extreme end of the shaft 17 and the sprocket 48 carried by the crank shaft 45. The screen comprises a pair of longitudinal angle bars 49 mounted on the angle bars of the sup tructure by the brackets of longitudinal rods 50 are idly secured to the bars which operate in the slotted l'irackcts 51 carried at each terminal of the angle bars 49. 'ihus it will be seen that by shifting inc ml the lml's 52 in the slotted brackets Bl, ll" m l: 7-0 will be shifted within the longilu lirm .mn'lc bars 49. The crank shaft From this con- ,ess

4:5 is connected to the rear rod or bar 52 by the links 54 and as the shaft rotates the rods will be reciprocated. The forward terminals of the rods 50 interlock with the downwardly curved terminal of the rods of the carrier mechanism, thus insuring the positive delivery or" the potatoes to the screen. I

. The angle bars carrying the screening rod carry at their rear terminals the chute 55' which operates directly over a platform 56 carried loythe rear axle l2 and the frame A.

The potatoes are prevented from entering the chute 55 by the door 57 hinged tonne of the anglejbars' lll and adapted to be locked against the opposite angle bar. In order to hold a bag directly belowthe chute,a T1g1l arm 58 is carried by one of the angle bars transverse bar 59, the latter having" a series 0t" teeth formed on its outer face, while a similarerod 60 is pivoted to the opposite angle bar 15 and is also provided with l transverse bar 61 which likewise has-teeth oniLs onter tace. A. spring 62 is interposed between the rod 60 and the sup;

porting bar 15 and tends to draw said rod and bar to the angle bar. Thus it will be seen when a bag shown in' dotted lines is carried the teeth of the bar 59, it will be supported by the teeth of the bar 61 due to the action ot'the spring 62 on the rod 60.

From this construction it will be readily understood that the potatoes are received from the plow 23'l0y the carrier mechanism and have the weeds and vinesremoved therefrom during the elevation process after which the potatoes are delivered to the screen mechanism where the dirt is removed and then delivered directly to the bag,

It will be apparent that since the rods 30! and is provided at its free terminal with beneath the carrier 35 are stationary, said members form guides/for the rods 50 of the screen mechanism, by reason of the interlocking connection between the above mentioned parts as hereinbefore referred to. The relative positions of said rods-30 and 50, is, of course, advantageous in insuring the proper delivery of the material operated on by the carrier 85, to the screening means. The members 30, furthermore, in no eration with the carrier constitute means for conducting or feeding the material to the screen.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed as new is 1; In a machine of the type set forth, the combination of a frame embodying a superstructure, a] screen mounted on said lsuperstructure and comprising longitudinal rods arranged in spaced relation, means for feeding material on to said screen consisting of a carrier comprising a plurality of spaced stationary rods having their ends interlocking with the rods of the screen by entering the spaces between the latter, and means for vibratin the screen so that the latter is guided %y the interlocking connection of the same with the-stationary rods 01 the carrier. F

2. In a machine of the type set forth, the Combination of a frame embodying a superstructure; a screenmounted on said superstructure andncompri sing longitudinal rods arranged in spaced relation; means for feedmaterial onto said screen consisting of a carrier comprising upwardly inclined stationary rods having -'their upper extremities! curved downwardly so as to extend between and thus interlock with the rods of the screen, means forimparting movement to the screen so that the latter is guided in such movement by the interlocking action of the same with said rods of the carrier, said vcarrier also including a carrier chain and outwardly extending fingers mounted on the carrier chain and movable thereby through the spacesbetween the rods of the screen.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' WILLIAM HEWITT.

Witnesses:

M. S. SwINGnEY, J. A. MAHAN. 

